How to Cope in Times of Stress

These days it’s difficult to get through a day or week without experiencing one common and not-so-loved emotion – stress.

Often when discussing our stress coping techniques the term “functioning” arises. Functioning refers to our ability to handle life in general, to make decisions and manage stress and to be responsible humans who are capable of GSD (Getting Sh*t Done).

Our overall ability to function in life refers to three important factors:

Our willingness and ability to take 100% responsibility for our own lives – fulfulling important roles both professionally and personally.

Our ability to fulfil our responsibilities and goals for ourselves within our job or our business.

Our ability to show up for our families, friends and loved ones.

It’s all about finding the right balance of taking on our share of responsibility, and more importantly, not taking on more or less than this.

In The Dance of Anger, Dr. Harriet Learner talks about the difference between how people process stressful times. Brene Brown also discusses this dynamic in her book The Power of Vulnerability. In times of stress people tend to unconsciously lean towards patterns of either over functioning or under functioning. This is especially evident in terms of roles within relationships and within family dynamics.

Understanding the interacting dynamics of over functioning and under functioning is imperative to understanding and resolving issues pertaining to self-care, relationship boundaries and burn out, and it can shed light on important relationships and family dynamics.